Pair seeking exoneration in corruption case

Ex-official, aide take action after key players cleared

STOCKTON - A former county supervisor and his aide who were convicted in a highly publicized corruption case that included then-Sheriff Baxter Dunn are seeking to be exonerated, following previous failed attempts.

STOCKTON - A former county supervisor and his aide who were convicted in a highly publicized corruption case that included then-Sheriff Baxter Dunn are seeking to be exonerated, following previous failed attempts.

Former Supervisor Lynn Bedford and his former aide, J. Tyler Reves, are asking to be cleared since the convictions of the three co-defendants prosecutors have said were the most deeply involved have already been overturned.

The five were accused of playing various roles to clear the path for Sunlaw Energy Corp. to win approval against a competitor to build a power plant at the Port of Stockton.

An attorney representing Bedford said it is completely unfair to uphold the duo's convictions of making a materially false statement to federal agents when prosecutors have asserted the two were the least culpable and convictions on the other three have been thrown out.

"How can you say they made a false statement to cover up a crime when there was never a crime committed?" asked Daniel Malakauskas, a Stockton-based attorney.

Prosecutors said at the time that Dunn; Monte McFall, a former lawman and lobbyist; and Neat Allen Sawyer, a former state official, stood to make $2 million if the deal had materialized.

Prosecutors said Bedford and Reves lied about knowing of the business relationship between ringleader McFall and Sunlaw.

Bedford pleaded guilty in 2005 and was sentenced to six months of home confinement.

In 2009, McFall's sentence was reduced to just more than half his term following an appellate decision that tossed key parts of his conviction in a string of charges.

And when the U.S. Supreme Court clarified fraud laws in the case of former Enron chief Jeffrey Skilling, it gave Dunn and Sawyer a chance to have the courts review their own convictions of honest services mail fraud. Their behavior did not constitute a crime under the clarified narrower meaning.

Dunn and Sawyer have been exonerated of their guilty pleas.

Sawyer, who served six months in prison, described the period before he was exonerated as "tough."

"After you've been exonerated, it's pretty easy," he said, adding that he's had more support in the community than people who "encouraged the false allegation."

Suggesting the investigation was spurred by political motivation, Sawyer said it was initiated amid Bedford's re-election period.

"Piece by piece, every court has ripped it to shreds till there's nothing but hot air," Sawyer said. "We're very grateful that the government eventually agreed we didn't commit a crime.

"We wish they would take a hard look at Lynn and Tyler, because it's very clear they're innocent also."

Malakauskas denies his client and Reves ever lied to authorities. There is no recorded evidence of the two defendants making such statements, he said.

Bedford's appeal says he "merely made a neutral statement concerning McFall's business relationship to Sunlaw."

Reves asserts he cooperated with authorities and testified on the matter before a grand jury, according to a brief he filed.

In response to a question of whether McFall had financial interest in Sunlaw, Reves said he responded: "If Monte was there, he definitely had a personal interest in that, I am sure."

Reves, who is representing himself, declined to comment, saying he wants his court documents to speak for themselves.

Malakauskas said Bedford's reputation has been tarnished as a result, and the local farmer wants to be vindicated.

"Because he has always been an outstanding member of the community," Malakauskas said. "And he wants his name back.

"He knows he's never done anything wrong. He needs the community to acknowledge that he didn't do anything wrong."

Previous attempts to have Bedford's and Reves' convictions vacated in the Eastern District of California were denied on grounds their habeas corpus petitions were filed too late.

Their cases sit with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals 10 years after federal prosecutors came down on them.

According to court papers, Bedford and Reves are arguing their petitions were, however, filed in time. Timing depended on the outcome of their co-defendants' appeals.

They dispute any wrongdoing in the first place and argue that because the convictions of the three other defendants were flawed and unconstitutional, whatever Bedford and Reves said or did not say was irrelevant anyway.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has until Oct. 3 to respond to their briefs.

Mary Wenger, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney, said both cases have been consolidated into one and prosecutors will answer with one brief. She could not indicate whether prosecutors will oppose their bids.